smith



UNITED STATE-s PATENT oEEIoE.

WVM. M. SMITH, OF VASHINGTOY,` DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND PETER HANNAY.

COPYING-PRESS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 17,307, dated May 12, 1857.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, IVM. MORRIS SMITH, of Vashington city, in the District of Oolumbia, have invented a new and useful Improved Copying-Press, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the` accompanying drawing through letters of reference marked thereon, forming part of this specification,`

in which- Figure l represents a perspective view of my improved press; Fig. 2,' an end elevation showing the press open to receive the book; Fig. 3, a detached view of the side links, and Fig. 4 a like view of the side lever and adjustable brasses.

The same letters of reference occurring in the several figures indicate the same parts.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, cheap and portable press for copying purposes that will supply the Wants of all who would find it advantageous tov preserve copies of their correspondence, &c., and who would not think it worth the expenditure of the cost of the ordinary press, and such a one as might conveniently be carried in a trunk or portmanteau for traveling mer chants and others who could not think of carrying such a cumbersome and weighty machine as is now used for that purpose; and it consists in a novel arrangement of links and levers at two opposite sides or ends Vof the press by which the platen and bedplate are thrown apart or drawn togetherto produce the required pressure and are so ar ranged and operated that when the bookis placed in and the pressure applied it will form a clamp therefor, occupying but little more space than the book alone, and whereby a -uniform degree of pressure is produced in each successive application.

To enable others to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation in detail.

The bedplate (A) may be composed of a skeleton frame of cast iron with rib braces to give it the necessary strength and four short legs for its support and to make it lie level on the table. On the face 'of this casting is riveted a thin board of wood or a stout binders board a trifle larger than the ordinary sized copying book or that intended to be used. At each end of this casting is a short journal or wrist (B), on each of which a link (c), of hooked form, is firmly keyed,

with a wrist (a) projecting laterally from the 'upper end of each. The platen (D) is slmllarly constructed, but without any legs. It also has a wrist (E) at each end, on which are fitted links (F) of the same hooked form as the others. Those on the bed plate are set wedge shaped boxes (I) which are adjustable to or from each other, and are held at any distance apart by a tapering clamp (K) being tightened against them, by the screw and nut (L). These boxes (I) are bored and fit on the wrists (n, n,) which project from the hooked end of the `links (O and F). The bed plate is further provided with two uprights which have slots (o) in them through which the two arms (S) of the platen pass, with a shoulder on the inside and a small pin through them on the outside of the uprights to prevent the platen from moving laterally, while the slots being longer than the depth of the arms admit of its rising or falling to suit books of different thickness, also of its assuming a slanting position as shown in Fig. 2, in order to insert or take out t-he book. The wrists of the links (O) at each end of the bed plate being stationary form a center on which the side levers (Gr) vibrate, Vso that when they are turned from left to right, the links (F) -being capable of vibrating on the wrists and connected by the wrists (n) to the side levers, they cause the platen to rise in a slanting direction and when moved from right to left they lower it, and when the side levers are `in a vertical position or thereabout the platen takes a bearing on the book and in passing the remainder of the distance to the left the wrist (a) describing the arc of a circle, downward, gradually and with great ease and power compresses the book; and when the lever is quite down the wrists (fn, n) are each slightly beyond the straight line from center to center of the wrists' (B,

E,) so that it has no tendency to return until started by hand. Ity will thus be seen that in clamping the book the pressure is to draw the boxes (I)v together. I therefore make them of tapering form and clamp them between two surfaces which narrow toward the center, so t-hat there is no possibility of their slipping, and by loosening the nut (L) the boxes may readily beplaced at any desired distance apart to suit the thickness of the book to be used, and again securedby tightening the nut (L). When once adjusted they will not require altering untilA the book is filled up, and not even then unless one of different size is adopted.y A variety of other modes of adjustment might be used. For instance the stationary link might be made adjustable on the trunnion of the bed plate or platen by means of a movable box tted in a slot and secured by a wedge orv screw or the boxes (I) may be iitted in a parallel slot in thel lever .and

moved to and from each other by a 'right and left screw passing through them or the lever might be split with a wedge inserted to regulate the distance between the points (n) and That I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. rIhe levers (Gr) in combination with the links (C and F) arranged and operating inthe manner substantially as set forth.

2. The method of adjusting the platen and bed plate so as totake a book of greater or less thickness substantially as described.

3. The slotted upright on the bed plate in combination with the arms (S) of the platen for the purpose of preventing lateral motion as set forth.

WM. M. SMITH.

Witnesses IV. LEsKI, H. W. HUGULEY. 

